The Latest: Bible inscribed by Einstein fails to find buyer

FILE - This June, 1954, file photo shows physicist Albert Einstein in Princeton, N.J. Two Einstein artifacts being auctioned in New York could contain clues to the spiritual beliefs of the 20th century’s best-known thinker.
Sotheby’s is auctioning a Bible Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in which Einstein inscribed in 1932: “This book is an inexhaustible source of living wisdom and consolation.” (AP Photo, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on auctions of two Einstein artifacts (all times local): 6 p.m. A Bible inscribed by Albert Einstein has failed to sell at auction in New York City. The auction…

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on auctions of two Einstein artifacts (all times local):

6 p.m.

A Bible inscribed by Albert Einstein has failed to sell at auction in New York City.

The auction house Sotheby’s says the leatherette-bound Bible that Einstein gave to an employee in 1932 did not find a buyer at Friday’s sale of rare books and manuscripts.

The famed physicist inscribed the Bible, “This book is an inexhaustible source of living wisdom and consolation.” The presale estimate was $200,000 to $300,000.

Still upcoming is a sale featuring a 1954 letter in which Einstein declared, “The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends.”

The letter will be auctioned at Christie’s on Tuesday.

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10 a.m.

Did Albert Einstein believe in God? The famous physicist was constantly questioned about his religious beliefs during his lifetime.

Two Einstein artifacts being auctioned in New York could contain clues to the spiritual beliefs of the 20th century’s best-known thinker.

Sotheby’s is auctioning a Bible Friday in which Einstein inscribed in 1932: “This book is an inexhaustible source of living wisdom and consolation.”

But Christie’s is auctioning a 1954 letter Tuesday in which Einstein declared, “The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends.”

Walter Isaacson, the author of a 2007 biography of Einstein, says his feelings about spirituality varied over time.